Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen
Sonnen in 2017
Born (1977-04-03) April 3, 1977 (age 47)
Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
DivisionMiddleweight (2005–2012)
Light Heavyweight (2002–2005, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Heavyweight (2018–2019)
Reach73 in (185 cm)
StyleWrestling
StanceSouthpaw
Fighting out ofWest Linn, Oregon, U.S.
TeamTeam Quest
Gracie Barra Portland[1]
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Fabiano Scherner[2]
WrestlingNCAA Division I wrestling
Olympic Greco-Roman trialist
Years active1997–2014, 2016–2019 (MMA)[3][4]
Mixed martial arts record
Total49
Wins31
By knockout8
By submission4
By decision19
Losses17
By knockout7
By submission9
By decision1
Draws1
Amateur record
Total2
Wins2
By knockout2
Other information
OccupationMixed martial artist, promoter and entrepreneur
UniversityUniversity of Oregon
Websitechaelsonnen.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
Representing the  United States
World University Championships
Silver medal – second place 2000 Tokyo 85 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Oregon Ducks
Pac-10 Championships
Silver medal – second place 1999 Stanford 197 lb
Silver medal – second place 2001 Eugene 197 lb

Chael Sonnen (/ˈtʃeɪl ˈsʌnən/; born April 3, 1977)[5] is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he became a top contender in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions and challenged for both the UFC Light Heavyweight and UFC Middleweight Championships. Sonnen has also fought in World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and most recently for Bellator MMA. Sonnen is often considered one of the best mixed martial artists never to have won a major MMA world championship and one of the sport's greatest trash-talkers.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

In 2014, Sonnen began working as a MMA analyst for ESPN[14] and two years later, in July 2016, founded Submission Underground (SUG), his own submission grappling promotion.[15]

  1. ^ "Chael Sonnen (Light Heavyweight) MMA Profile".
  2. ^ "Chael Sonnen receives Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt". BloodyElbow.com. January 15, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  3. ^ BFV Battle of Fort Vancouver. Sherdog.com (May 10, 1997). Retrieved on August 24, 2011.
  4. ^ Sherdog.com. "Chael Sonnen MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography, and More". Sherdog.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  5. ^ "Chael Sonnen". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  6. ^ Muehlhausen, Steven. "10 Greatest Trash Talkers in MMA History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "ShieldSquare Captcha". validate.perfdrive.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "Greatest Trash Talkers in MMA History | Tapology MMA Rankings". Tapology. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Greatest UFC fighters of all time to never to win a championship". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "10 great fighters who never won a title in UFC". www.sportskeeda.com. February 27, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "15 of the best MMA fighters to never win a title". FanSided. July 29, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "Top 20 Greatest UFC Fighters To Never Win A UFC Championship". TheSportster. August 11, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  13. ^ "Top 10 fighters who came very close but never won that coveted UFC belt". SportsJOE.ie. June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference ESPN69 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Staff, MMA Junkie (July 17, 2016). "Chael Sonnen: Submission Underground 1 sellout 'a surprise even for us'". USA Today. Retrieved January 2, 2021.